Sugar prices to rise due to reduced sugarcane output in UP
BIJNOR: Sugar price in UP could soar further because of a decline of 15-20% in sugarcane production owing to bad climatic conditions and plant diseases.
Due to lower cane output this year, a price war has started in the private sector comprising small units like kolhus and crushers. There are over 3,919 kullus and 258 crushers in Uttar Pradesh. Farmers can sell their crop to kolhus at any cost but sugar mills purchase the crop at the fixed price announced by the state government i.e. the state advised price (SAP).
Presently, small units are purchasing sugarcane at Rs 380-400 per quintal as the sugar and jaggery market is looking up and both are being sold at a price of Rs 4,000 per quintal. This is causing the price war in the private market.
Meanwhile, many farmer organizations are sitting on a strike demanding an increase in the SAP. Kisan Majdoor Sangathan (Pooran group) has launched an indefinite dharna here demanding that the SAP be hiked from Rs 350 to Rs 400 per quintal.
According to farmers, the state government has still not declared the SAP two months into the crushing season 2023-24. The agriculturists claimed that private mills are buying sugarcane at the old price of Rs 350 per quintal. There are 120 sugar mills operating in Uttar Pradesh.
The state president of Bhartiya Kisan Union Arajnaitik’s youth wing, Digambar Singh, said, “This time around sugarcane production has come down by 20% in the state. This is why cane prices should be increased from Rs 350 to Rs 450 per quintal. If the prices are not hiked, we will stage a dharna in protest.”
When contacted, Bijnor sugar mill’s general manager cane Rahul Singh said that there has been a fall in sugarcane production this year due to plant diseases and early rains. He said that sugar recovery from the sugarcane has also decreased due to which the mills are bearing losses.
Bijnor district cane officer Prabhu Narayan Singh confirmed that cane production has fallen in the state.
Talking to TOI a state-level officer said, “This time the climate was not conducive to the growth of the crop. Also,sugarcane variety 0238, which is the most grown variety in the state, has been most affected by the red rot disease. All farmers are being educated about changing the crop variety next sowing season.”
Sugarcane is grown in 29 lakh hectares of land in the state and about 50 lakh farmers are involved in production of the crop.
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